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2.21.12

Democrats oppose bill to eliminate bargaining rights for former DeCoster egg farm workers

Republicans back measure to gut workers' rights

AUGUSTA – House Democrats today fought against a GOP-backed measure to eliminate collective bargaining rights for agriculture workers at the former DeCoster egg farm. DeCoster has leased the farm to a company owned by the Land O'Lakes agriculture cooperative.

The farm has a history of workplace violations in Maine, and unsanitary conditions in its Iowa facilities were linked to salmonella outbreaks across the country in 2010.

"Is it the company's intention to start its relationship with the state by revoking worker's rights," said Rep. Rob Hunt, D-Buxton, who serves on the Legislature's Labor, Commerce, Research, and Development Committee. "Let's not hope they treat workers fairly, let's make sure they do. Trust in god but lock your car."

Republicans passed the measure in a partisan vote of 73 to 69.

Jack DeCoster, owner of the egg farms in Maine and nationally, has been found guilty of violating federal and state labor, safety, immigration, animal cruelty and environmental laws for decades. In 1997, he was fined $2 million by the U.S. Department of Labor for gross workplace violations. The violations prompted the passage of the Maine law the Republicans voted to repeal.

"New management shouldn't mean new rules for protecting workers rights," said Rep. Erin Herbig, D-Belfast. "We have no guarantee that this lease precludes DeCoster from taking control of the operations again or that it will create jobs or a safer workplace."

DeCoster's Maine operations have been fined by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) multiple times over the past decade for s repeat violations of workplace safety. The violations included improperly installed roof trusses, exposed asbestos, unsanitary shower facilities, hazardous electrical equipment, and forcing employees to work on and under the roof of a building that had collapsed in a snowstorm.

In an August 2008 fine, OSHA described the violations as a "disregard for basic, commonsense safety procedures and employee protections [that] is as astonishing as it is unacceptable."

Democrats also rejected claims from Republicans that the workers didn't need to retain the right to collectively bargain since they had not unionized in the 15 years since the legislature passed the original law.

"The right to organize shouldn't have an expiration or sell-by date," said Rep. Sharon Treat of Hallowell, who served in the legislature that passed the law in 1997.

The bill faces more votes in the House and Senate.